OVERALL CRIME DOWN, MURDERS UP IN NEW YORK CITY

On behalf of Marianne Bertuna of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins posted in Violent Crimes on Friday June 15, 2018.

Overall crime is down in New York City according to newly released preliminary crime data for May 2018. However, there was a significant increase in the number of violent crimes, such as murders and rapes, when compared to the same period of 2017.

Police received 34 reports of murder in May 2018. In comparison, they received 26 homicide reports in May 2017. There were 181 rapes reported in May, which represents a 50 percent increase over the 121 rapes reported in the same month of 2017. Meanwhile, there was also a 14.9 percent increase in shootings with 77 reported to authorities in May 2018. There were 67 shootings reported in May 2017.

However, not all the news is bad. There were 1,023 overall crimes reported in May 2018, which is a 2.7 percent drop from the previous year, and burglaries dipped 8.5 percent in a year-to-year comparison. If the numbers hold, New York City could be on pace for a record low in crimes in 2018. Over the first five months of the year, there were 36,957 reported crimes. In 1993, there were 171,934 crimes reported between January and May.

Defendants accused of violent crimes can face serious consequences if they are convicted. For example, someone convicted of first-degree murder could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. An attorney may investigate the case and look for details that could be used in the defendant’s favor. In some circumstances, this might cause the charges to be dropped. In others, it may help legal counsel negotiate a plea deal that reduces the charges and leads to a more lenient sentence.